Chapter 429 Returning to the Surface World <TOC> Chapter 431 Fear Spell
Translator: SumTLMan
Lightning struck incessantly, causing the dark room to flicker with momentary flashes of brightness.
Felicia sat on the edge of the bed, her back straight, her face intermittently illuminated by the lightning, revealing her cold and puzzled expression.
She had experienced the illusion again. This time, she followed the footsteps of the wine thief and entered the dense palm grove behind.
Following a narrow path, she discovered a small harbor town built along the coast.
The town was built on a hillside, and at first glance, all the buildings were white—white bricks, white tiles, white fences, and even the crushed stones on the roads were white. The flourishing flowers and plants in each household’s courtyard added a touch of vibrancy to the overall white.
Felicia entered the town, and the wine thief landed occasionally, sometimes even perching on her shoulder.
She visited every room in the town and eventually opened a small door in front of a fountain adorned with a peeing child sculpture, leading into the interior of the hillside.
After emerging from the hillside, the wine thief no longer flew erratically, but circled above her head instead.
Felicia understood that the main storyline of the illusion was nearing its end.
She stopped the magical input to the feather earring, and the illusion dissipated like falling feathers.
As she recalled the journey, it was not monotonous and dull, but full of novel experiences, like her exploration on the ghost ship. The deserted town seemed inhabited, and the ordinary items seemed to tell stories of the past.
She also discovered that the stories in the town were interconnected and interactive. If she carefully pondered them, she would eventually uncover the secrets hidden within the town… so she opened the small door leading into the hillside interior.
It was as if completing a series of linked quests, imagining different stories to uncover the hidden messages within.
The interior of the hillside was a peculiar space, seemingly vast yet small. Upon entering, she felt as if time had frozen, and everything around her exuded an eternal aura. She discovered many intriguing stories here, unlike the ordinary tales of the outside world, occasionally involving extraordinary realms… Interestingly, in a blood-stained hammer found in a shipyard, she imagined a story of shipbuilding, and the ship that was built happened to be the ghost ship she had boarded.
She gained much information within the winding mountain, which told her many things, such as the possibility that there might still be some unexplored areas in this illusionary world… From a landscape painting, she imagined a valley of vibrant flowers; from a rusty key, she imagined an underwater prison.
But these places were probably like ghost ships, just side stories within the illusionary world. Her main quest was still within the winding mountain.
She estimated the time Gloria spent in the illusionary world and determined that it was unlikely for her to have explored these side stories or easter eggs; at most, she could have reached the winding mountain’s interior.
But she had already seen the interior of the winding mountain, and apart from the more complete story, there was nothing unusual… After pondering for a moment, if she had to pick something strange, it would be the “time-stagnation sensation.”
Other than that, there seemed to be nothing worth mentioning?
Of course, she admitted that this illusionary world was very well-made, and many things within it were not only useful to wizard apprentices but also evoked some emotions in official wizards.
However, she still remembered Gloria’s previous terrified scream: “Stay away from me, get lost.”
These illusions did not match the content of her scream. Could it be that there was something Gloria encountered that she hadn’t?
She decided to experience the illusionary world once more, carefully exploring any possible secrets. But this time, as she arrived at the winding mountain’s interior, the illusionary world dissipated.
As the illusionary world disappeared, she saw an extra person in her room—Gloria.
Gloria held a feather earring in her hand, with a trace of fear in her eyes, but also an imperceptible hint of joy.
“Gloria, are you alright now?” She didn’t get angry because the illusionary world was interrupted but instead showed concern for her close friend.
Gloria shook her head: “I’m fine now.”
“What happened to you just now…?” She paused: “Is there anything strange in this illusionary world?”
Gloria remained silent for a long time until she asked again: “Is it the harbor town? Or the winding mountain’s interior?”
Only then did Gloria reply: “The winding mountain’s interior.”
“What’s wrong with that place?”
Gloria sighed and spoke faintly after a long pause: “It triggered some lost memories of mine, memories of the Nightmare Plane…” Her gaze was vacant, seemingly recalling the terrifying experiences in the Nightmare Plane, with occasional flickers of fear in her eyes: “You might have felt it too, stepping into the winding mountain’s interior gives a strange sensation, lingering around you. It’s as if…”
“Time stagnation!” They exclaimed almost simultaneously.
Gloria nodded: “Yes, exactly. It was this time-stagnation sensation that triggered my memories, making me feel as if I were back in the Nightmare Plane, witnessing the overwhelming sea monsters rushing towards me, surrounding me completely.”
“So, that’s why you exclaimed and threw it aside?” Felicia pointed to the feather earring in her hand.
Gloria nodded, a faint blush on her face.
Felicia had never been to the Nightmare Plane, so she didn’t know how terrifying the source of Gloria’s fear was, but just a hint of a similar aura was enough to make a wizard who had set foot on the path of true knowledge lose their composure, showing that the Nightmare Plane was far more frightening than she had imagined.
“It’s good that you’re alright. I thought Angel had done something in the illusion. I was planning to use the Butterfly Spirit to capture him and bring him back.” Felicia comforted, “The Nightmare Plane is in the past, don’t think about it.”
But Gloria shook her head, “This time I regained some memories, and it reminded me of some things.”
Seeing Felicia’s confusion, Gloria continued, “As soon as I entered the Nightmare Plane, I was actually captured by a powerful legendary sea monster.”
Legendary! Felicia was astonished. In the Wizarding World of the Southern Region, legendary monsters hadn’t been seen for many years. The only legendary monsters she knew about were likely found in the depths of the abyss.
“However, that legendary sea monster was later severely injured by the collateral damage of a fight between two gigantic humanoid creatures.”
“Collateral damage alone severely injured it?” Felicia asked incredulously.
Gloria, recalling the situation at the time, was still scared, “Yes, just from being affected on the periphery, it was nearly dead.”
“You mean, those two giant humanoid creatures were…”
“Far beyond legendary.” Gloria closed her eyes, revealing a fact she didn’t dare to speculate about.
Felicia choked on her saliva and, after digesting the information for a long time, asked tremblingly, “What happened next?”
“Next, I teamed up with ‘Bud’ and set up a big trap, trying to kill the dying creature.” Gloria said, showing a self-mocking smile, “However, we failed. A legendary monster, even on the brink of death, is not something we ants can scheme against. But, because it was severely injured and couldn’t use much power, we were lucky enough to escape.”
“But due to an accident, I was discovered by its subordinates. All its subordinates were semi-legendary monsters, with strength probably comparable to that of Mengke. They set up a dragnet to prevent me from escaping. In such a situation, I had to use a spirit-separating spell to separate my soul from my flesh. I hid my body on that island and managed to escape thanks to the concealment of my soul.”
Felicia asked, “So, your body was actually hidden by yourself?”
“That’s right.” Gloria nodded and then said something that almost made Felicia trip, “I plan to return to the Nightmare Plane to find my body.”
“Have you gone mad?!” Felicia rushed to Gloria’s side, shackling her arms: “You barely escaped, and now you want to return to the Nightmare Plane? Are you tired of living?”
“And have you forgotten your goal? You are the hope of our gourmet wizards, and you have to carry this banner. If anything happens again, the Candy House…”
Gloria’s delicate hand gently pressed against Felicia’s lips: “I know, I know everything. You, me, the Candy House, the Butterfly Tavern, and the Barbie Restaurant, I see them all clearly. But precisely because I see them clearly, I must do this.”
“I once told Angel that there were four inevitable calamities on Toby. These are inescapable and must be confronted unless one is forever content in their swaddling clothes.” Gloria lowered her head, “Actually, I am the same. This is also my calamity, and I must face it.”
Felicia anxiously broke away from her hands and said, “But…”
“There is no but. Don’t you understand? Why didn’t I completely take over this body and maintain a dual soul state? With my personality, would I be so indecisive?”
“I actually had a vague awareness in my subconscious that I couldn’t just merge with this body. I was unconsciously rejecting it…until I experienced this Multidimensional Illusion. I recalled some memories, and then I knew all the reasons.”
“If I take over this body, it’s as if I voluntarily abandon my past. How could I possibly have a future?”
Felicia stared blankly, “What do you mean?”
“If I don’t find my body, I will lose the opportunity to move forward forever. Let alone returning to the peak, it might be difficult to even return to being a formal wizard.”
As Gloria said this, she looked at the feather earrings in her hand.
If it weren’t for Angel’s illusion pointing the way for her this time, perhaps she would have given in for a moment and occupied this body. If so, she would have been truly ruined. Thinking of this, Gloria felt immense gratitude towards Angel.
It took Felicia a long time to digest these words. Gloria had already said this much, and she had no position to oppose any further. However, she was still very worried: “Gloria, you have to think it through. The Nightmare Plane is not a place you can go just because you want to. And, even if you return to the Nightmare Plane, can you really find your body?”
Regarding this crucial issue, Gloria fell silent as well.
“The problem with the passage and the location can actually be resolved… but I need a guide.”
A guide?
Gloria extended her palm, revealing the delicate feathered earring in her hand.
“You mean Angel?” If Angel could create an illusion with a similar atmosphere to the Nightmare Plane, did it mean he had been there? Felicia couldn’t answer this question, but she still felt that Gloria was being too hasty.
“No, Angel may have indeed been to the Nightmare Plane, but with his current abilities, he can’t help me. What I actually meant was… Sanders.”
Over the past hundred years, Sanders would visit her Barbie Restaurant every few decades to order a “Twisted Protozoa.” Through many years of negotiation, she gradually learned some things about Sanders, including matters related to the Nightmare Plane.
Although neither of them had broken this unspoken understanding, Gloria was almost certain that Sanders definitely had a way to enter the Nightmare Plane, and the medium to enter it was likely… the Twisted Protozoa!
Chapter 429 Returning to the Surface World <TOC> Chapter 431 Fear Spell